Inside The Mets

Mets' Eric Chavez makes bold statement about Pete Alonso's swing upgrade

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso received a powerful endorsement from his hitting coach.

Grant Young

Feb 19, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) looks on from the field during a spring training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 19, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) looks on from the field during a spring training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets and Pete Alonso agreeing to a two-year, $54 million deal on February 12 certified the Mets as having one of the National League's most intimidating lineups.

Not only does Alonso serve crucial protection behind Juan Soto, but the Polar Bear's nearly-unmatched power since entering the MLB gives the Mets' offense a jolt that would have been impossible to replace if he had signed elsewhere.

However, Alonso is coming off the worst statistical season of his MLB career. His 34 home runs and .788 OPS are both the worst he has produced in a full season since his MLB debut in 2019, which likely cost him some money when it came to free agency bargains.

That said, Alonso is still an elite hitter. And according to a March 4 article from Will Sammon of The Athletic, New York hitting coach Eric Chavez expects major improvements from the Polar Bear in 2025.

"From a technical standpoint, Alonso learned the importance of his hips as a power source, New York Mets co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said," Sammon wrote. "Essentially, he grasped Alonso now has his hips set in the right position at the beginning of his swing. He’s able to hold them there. He’s able to fire them when he wants to. And he’s firing them in the right direction.

"In simpler language, Chavez says Alonso has 'actually learned how to hit,'" Sammon continued. "Alonso figured out what he does well and why he does it. Alonso studied video to pinpoint the issue. Then he worked out at Diesel Optimization in Tampa for refinement. Chavez called Alonso’s work in the offseason 'a tremendous job.'"

Chavez is then quoted in the article saying, “It’s the best I’ve ever seen him. I’m very, very optimistic that Pete is going to have a monster year. I’m not trying to put pressure on him. But as good as he looks right now — and he’s going to maintain his routine — it’s going to be a pretty special year for him.”

Chavez's Alonso endorsement must be music to Mets fans' ears.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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